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The National Screen Institute – Canada (NSI) is now accepting applications for the 2019 edition of NSI IndigiDocs.

NSI IndigiDocs offers development and mentorship for up to four producer/director teams to create a short documentary.

During the course, accepted teams will:

• get training, mentorship and up to $16K in cash towards the production of their films;
• attend Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto;
• receive travel, accommodation and post-production services from NFB;
• have their documentaries air as part of a one-hour special of NSI IndigiDocs shorts on APTN; and
• get the opportunity for their individual films to appear on documentary Channel, nfb.ca and nsi-canada.ca.

“The success of NSI IndigiDocs is perfectly exemplified with the recent announcement of films made through the course that will screen at this year’s imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival,” said Elise Swerhone, program co-manager.

“With an industry that is progressively making space to screen, broadcast and amplify stories from Indigenous documentary filmmakers, there’s clearly a hunger for this type of training. We’re excited to see the stories and perspectives that applicants submit this year.”

Odessa Shuquaya, Vancouver-based Cedar Tree of Life director and 2017 NSI IndigiDocs program participant, said, “It’s rare to get this kind of exposure and support from the beginning of your film through to its completion and beyond.

“I would highly recommend this program to filmmakers who are emerging with their own work and already have some schooling and industry experience. If you have an idea for a film, what’s stopping you?”

The course starts with a two-week boot camp and a feast to launch the program in Winnipeg in February 2019.

NSI staff members Ursula Lawson and Elise Swerhone serve as program co-managers alongside NSI associate program manager Kaya Wheeler. Shane Belcourt and Lisa Jackson are the director advisors and Brendon Sawatzky serves as producer advisor. Lisa Meeches is NSI’s Indigenous training programs advisor.

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Find out more and apply for NSI IndigiDocs by November 5, 2018 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

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Cedar Tree of Life, developed and made through NSI IndigiDocs by director Odessa Shuquaya and producer April Johnson in 2016-17, screened at festivals in San Francisco, Edmonton, New York, Paris, Santa Fe, Cincinnati and more. It won an award for best direction at the Buddha International Film Festival in India.

From Up North, developed and made through NSI IndigiDocs by director Trudy Stewart and producer Janine Windolph in 2015-16, screened at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum as part of National Indigenous History Month 2018. Noel Starblanket, film subject, elder and storyteller, has been a vital voice in recent national truth and reconciliation conversations.

Flat Rocks, developed and made through NSI IndigiDocs by director Courtney Montour and producer Roxann Whitebean in 2015-16, most recently screened at DOXA fest in Vancouver, Asinabka fest in Ottawa and Māoriland fest in New Zealand, among many others.

NSI IndigiDocs 2017-19 is funded by Program Partners APTN, Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and RBC Emerging Artists Project; Boot Camp Presenting Sponsor Manitoba Film & Music; Strategic Sponsors the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) and documentary Channel; Supporting Sponsors Telefilm Canada, Saskatchewan Media Production Industry Association (SMPIA), Corus Entertainment, Breakthrough Entertainment and the Jim Murphy Filmmakers Bursary; Provincial Sponsors Manitoba Film & Music and Creative BC through the Daryl Duke and William Vince Scholarship Fund; Industry Partners the National Film Board and the Directors Guild of Canada; Industry Supporters imagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival and Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival; and Service Sponsor Line 21 Media. NSI Core Funders are Manitoba Sport, Culture & Heritage and the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council.

All media enquiries

Laura Friesen, Manager, Communications & Alumni Relations
Tel: 204.957.2999 or email: laura.friesen@nsi-canada.ca

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